Belfast Monkey's Zoobreak Ends in Tragedy

An unnamed spider monkey that broke out of Belfast Zoo enjoyed the free life for just a few short hours, after the animal – unaware of the modern world outside of captivity –was hit by a car on the M2.

What's particularly sad about the case is that drivers spotted the monkey strolling along the side of the road and attempted to notify the zoo, only for the men with nets and the Benny Hill theme tune to fail to respond in time. The driver reported the monkey to the police instead – and of course captured some social media content of this one-off event – only for the creature to get flattened by a less-attention-paying car before it could be apprehended.

A Belfast City Council spokesman said: "We are currently investigating how the escape occurred from the monkey island which the animals are kept. The monkey was being tracked by keepers when the accident occurred and despite being quickly taken back to the zoo for veterinary assistance died shortly afterwards."

If only the car driver had gone to grab it, as he suggested at the time. That would've been a video worth the wait to load. [Sky News]